Page 61 of The Devil and His Sparrow

Iyla beamed as she read off another flavor card.

You know, staying here all day might not be so bad.

“There’s plenty,” I said, gesturing around us. “You aren’t limited to one kind. You can try as many as you’d like and eat as much as you’d like. Both of you.”

“This is the greatest day of my life,” Gemma declared.

She immediately requested slices of three different cakes. I cut them for her, ensuring they were small enough so that she didn’t fill up on one flavor before getting to eat the other two. With my back to the girls, I pricked my finger and let a drop fall onto the cake. I watched the black blood disappear into the spongy food. I handed her the plate and fork then turned my attention to the eldest Winters.

“Iyla?” I probed softly, waiting for her to tell me what she wanted.

“Can I try the spice cake with cream cheese frosting, please?”

I grinned. “You can have whatever you want, Sparrow.”

I went to that table to cut some cake. A hand suddenly gripped the shirt at my lower back, and I looked down as Iyla held onto me and leaned in close to my side. Her shining eyes held mine as she whispered, “Thank you for doing this. It … It means so much to me.”

Nothing could keep the smile off my face. Not when she looked at me like I made the world a better place. Me—a demon. “You don’t have to thank me. You earned this, remember?”

She let out a small laugh and looked around the room with a shake of her head. “I don’t think I deserve this. It was just midterms.”

“Midterms for classes you hate,” I reminded her, gaining her attention again. “For a degree you don’t want. For a woman who doesn’t treat you right. So yeah, you don’t deserve this. You deserve so much more.”

She swallowed hard, and, again, that warmth she kept directing at me swelled to life in her eyes. “Don’t say things like that. Otherwise, I’ll start to believe you.”

I leaned down so we were nose to nose. I was so fucking tempted to kiss her but opted not to because of our young audience. “Good. I’m counting on it.”

I handed her the plate with the cake she’d requested. After making a plate for myself, the three of us made our way back to Gemma’s room. I gave the ladies at the nurses station the greenlight to let the staff and other patients get what they wanted of the cake, too.

Our little trio made ourselves at home at the table by the window in Gemma’s room. Iyla and I sat across from each other with Gemma between us, facing the window. We dug into our cake, and the girls nearly fell out of their seats from how much they loved it. I learned they’d not had cake in years since their mom didn’t allow it.

Shocker.

We worked on a one-thousand piece puzzle of a—of course—dragon. I was starting to notice a theme with the little girl.

Nurses and patients popped in every so often to sing me praise for bringing the cake for everyone. I was used to constant attention and random people coming up to chat or request photos. It came with being the lead singer in a popular band, so it was always easy for me to smile and go along with the interactions. Anytime. Anywhere.

But for some reason, both last night at dinner and now, I wanted them to leave me alone. I wanted to hold onto this moment where I sat in this little room with Iyla and her sister. I wanted to sit uninterrupted, watching the way Iyla savored her cake, seeing the way she lit up in pure delight while talking to her sister, and laughing at how she wiggled in her chair when she found a matching puzzle piece. I wanted this moment to stay here for just the three of us.

Which was exactly why I let people continue to barge in.

What the Hell was wrong with me—getting swept up in a human to the point of doing outlandish things just to see her happy …

I mean, we were friends, something I was still new to. Maybe these feelings—also something I was new to—was just part of being a friend to someone. It was no wonder that it freaked me out a little.

“So how have you been this week?” Iyla asked, casting a nervous look at Gemma while she sorted through more pieces.

Gemma shrugged. “It’s been weird.”

Iyla went ramrod straight and stared at her sister. “Weird? Weird how?”

Gemma didn’t seem to notice her sister’s alarmed reaction, too focused on shoving more cake onto her fork. “There are days where I don’t feel tired at all and want to run around and play. I don’t stay cold those days, and I don’t get sick. I even heard Dr. Seward telling Mom my tests come back normal on those days. No extra bad cells or something. I don’t know.”

Iyla’s wide eyes found mine, and I knew we were thinking the same thing.

My blood is working.

We just had to keep up the weekly dosage, and soon, Gemma should start improving greatly until she really was better.

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